MYTH: Quick-Fix Weight-Loss Solutions Really Work

Fasting cleanses, colonics, and certain types of "fasting" diets are just a few of many quick-fix schemes advertised and promoted for weight-loss benefits, but do they live up to all of the claims? The truth is behind the hype.

The Truth:Quick-fix
diet methods, like fasting colonics, cleanses and fasting do more harm than good to
your body — and can actually hurt your weight-loss efforts.

Whenever you see any type of get-skinny-fast diet or
program, be wary. If I’ve said it once, then I’ve said it
a thousand times — there is NO quick road to weight loss! No shortcuts, no
secret pills, no magic potions — got it? Want to lose weight and keep it off?
The only way to is to eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, and track your
calories in versus calories out.

Of course, most people know all this already, but that doesn’t
stop me from constantly being asked whether certain colonics and trendy cleanses
really work. While colonics or cleanses may be necessary for medical reasons
(testing foods to find an allergy, surgical procedure, etc.), there is absolutely no reason you
should treat these methods as beneficial to weight-loss. Here’s why:

No
medical research shows that there are any health benefits or true weight loss from colonics.The
only weight loss that colonics promote is from the removal of fluid and waste from your
bowels. Claims that colonics help to detoxify your body and restore your colon’s
health are complete crap. No pun intended. Here's the thing: Your digestive system and bowels
naturally eliminate waste material and bacteria — you don’t
need a colonic to do this! Not only do colonics fail to help your weight-loss
efforts, but they can have negative side effects. Colonics have been shown to
create electrolyte imbalances, which can result in nausea, vomiting, bloating
and muscle cramps. Unless your doctor schedules you for a colonic for medical
reasons, I would avoid getting one — and save the $55 to $95 per treatment cost
too.

“Fasting
cleanses”do more harm to your body than good.The
term cleanse makes me laugh, because the only thing that
detoxes your body is clean eating, nutrients that support
your liver and kidneys and water. Stop eating processed crap and start eating
whole, real foods. Thinking that drinking a concoction of lemon, syrup and cayenne
pepper or drinking salt water and laxative tea, like the Master Cleanse, will
“detoxify” your body and create permanent weight loss is completely
inaccurate. I know people who have done
the Master Cleanse and lost up to ten pounds in a week, but in a month they put
ON 20 pounds. I refer to this as the “refeeding syndrome”: You starve
your body for a period of time, and then when you start eating again, you put all
that weight back on – and then some. You’re screwing with your metabolism to
boot and that's dangerous.

Fasting
will destroy your metabolism. From
a biochemical perspective, fasting throws your body into starvation mode. When
you don’t provide your body with nutrients, it sends signals that you are now
in starvation mode. Which means your body releases hormones that will slow down
your metabolism, cannibalize your muscles, and store fat. The physiological facts: Since fat is needed for survival to insulate our bodies, we store it, but muscle is expendable.
When you restrict nutrients to your body, your body will start to eat its own muscle tissue, and (double whammy) become more proficient at storing fat.
The main point: Don’t fast, unless it’s for a religious purpose that you feel
strongly about, and even then, be careful to only do it only for a short period of
time.

The Bottom Line:There
are no quick fixes when it comes to weight loss. The key to “cleansing” your
body is drinking water and eating whole, real foods. Colonics, fasting cleanses, and
fasting methods are just sending your body and your metabolism into starvation
mode — which can create long-term negative side effects that aren’t worth the few
pounds you initially lost.

Want some extra TLC?

Working out is great, but if you really want results — you need daily support, motivation, and a personalized plan to keep you on track. Join Jillian and get everything you need!

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